Worry Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
by jellybean96
Summary: Malcolm's stuck inside the hospital with his dad. Dani's mind is not letting her focus because of that.


**Hey babes! New story! Thought about this little piece before the previous episode of **_Prodigal Son _**aired and because we didn't really get anything of Dani worrying about Malcolm or checking on him after, I decided to write it myself. **

**Enjoy!**

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Dani prides herself on not being too much of a worrier. Rarely do things actually get to her and make her worry more than normal, but when they do, it completely takes her over. She always tries not to let it show, though. Especially being a cop, if she lets things overwhelm her with worry, then she'd never get anything done.

Which is exactly what's threatening to happen when Bright winds up getting trapped in a lockdown with his sister t the hospital their father is imprisoned at. Their father; a serial killer. It sets all her nerves on edge. Since the moment she found out.

They may not know each other very well, but he's still a valuable part of their team. Malcolm's a bit of an odd duck, but he's starting to grow on her. So much so that she's starting to worry that he may not make it out of this.

But she quickly pushes that thought down. She can't focus on it. She needs to focus on the case they currently have, on finding connections, if any, to Malcolm's dad. And also figuring out who the victims are so they can notify families. That part is never easy.

But no matter where the case takes them, her mind still takes her to Malcolm and what he might be dealing with at the current moment while he's trapped with his dad. She's obviously never met the man and doesn't know much about him except for what's been in the news, but it definitely unsettles her.

Logically, in the back of her mind, she knows that Malcolm can take care of himself, that he's a grown man, but she's still not happy about it happening. She knows that Gil and TJ aren't too happy about it either, especially Gil, but unfortunately, all they can really do is sit and wait for Malcolm to contact them with whatever news. And hope that things go okay.

Which is why it doesn't do well on her nerves when Malcolm's latest call ends rather abruptly, and she has a sinking feeling in her gut about what he might do.

So she corners Gil as soon as she can.

"Hey, we're going to help him, right?" she asks him.

"No one in or out," TJ reminds her and she briefly wonders where exactly he appeared from.

"Someone has to make sure he's okay, though," she insists, glancing between her two teammates.

"Bright can handle himself just fine," Gil tries to reassure her in his usual, calm way. "Trust me, he's a resourceful kid. Plus, his sister is there, he won't do anything that risks her life."

"He's already going to go after that guy, though," she says to them. "I know you know that."

"Dani…" Gil starts.

"No!" She shakes her head quickly. "Bright's ours!" she whisper shouts, not wanting to alert the rest of the precinct to their conversation. "He's one of us! We can't just sit back and wait until everything is over to find out if he made it out alive or not."

"That's exactly what we're going to do. The best thing we can do for Bright right now is to continue working our case and hope that everything works out alright over there." Gil gives her one final look before moving off to another area of the precinct. JT opens his mouth to speak but she shoots him a quick glare and turns toward her desk.

Falling down into it heavily, she runs a hand through her hair and stares down at the top of her desk. Try as she might, she can't let go of her concern for Malcolm.

.

.

.

One of Malcolm's biggest issues in this world is when people worry and fuss over him. He doesn't like it when his mom does it, he doesn't enjoy it when his sister does it, and he barely tolerates it when Gil does it. But he especially doesn't like it when the paramedics do it.

He knows they're doing their job, making sure he's okay. But it still doesn't change the fact that he doesn't appreciate being coddled. It honestly makes him feel a little more messed up than he already does.

But he lets them do their job, knowing that it'll just be over quicker if he doesn't fight it. And the sooner it's over, the sooner he can keep figuring out why he keeps having the memory flashes that he does. He just needs to know the truth. He needs to know.

"Bright! Malcolm!"

Lifting his head from where he's been staring at the concrete, his brows furrow a little when he sees Dani pushing her way through the crowd of people gathered outside. Most of them aren't budging and she's doing her best to get through them.

"NYPD. Let me through."

He ducks his head again as he smiles at the fact that she's using her police credentials to break through the crowd despite the fact that she wasn't officially called to the hospital. He knows Gil and the others weren't working on getting him and Ainsley out. The two of them had to rely on themselves and whoever else was working on getting them out safely. Which hadn't been easy, to say the least.

"Bright."

He lifts his head again, giving Dani a small smile when she reaches him. "Dani, hi." He sits up a little straighter. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you guys got out," she tells him, glancing around the scene. "How's your sister doing?"

"Shaken up. But resilient as ever." The paramedic finishes up and then walks away, leaving him and Dani alone among the hordes of people surrounding the scene. "She wouldn't...even when her friend was lying on the floor bleeding, she was still filming the whole thing. It's moments like those when I tend to worry about her."

"Just don't let it eat you up inside. That's never a good thing."

"Speaking from experience?" he asks, raising one brow at her.

She gives him a casual shrug, shifting on her feet as she slides her hands into the front pockets of her jeans. "Once or twice."

He cracks a hint of a smile and gives a small nod. "Well, I will be sure to remember that, thank you. Did Gil and JT come with you as well?" he asks as casually as possible, taking a quick look around them.

Dani shakes her head. "No, they didn't. They're back at the precinct, I think. I just figured it might be nice for you to see a friend after all of this."

"Well, you're not entirely wrong. I'm glad you came by. Thank you."

She shrugs. "No problem. I should probably head out now, though. It's getting kind of late."

"Right, of course. Yes. You should...you should do that. I'll see you when there's a new case."

She slowly starts backing away from the scene, nodding. "Yeah. And Bright?"

"Yes?"

She gives him a small hint of a smile. "I'm glad you didn't die in there or anything."

He smiles back at her. "So am I, Detective Powell. Immensely so."

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**So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts. **

**Until next time,  
Jellybean96 out!**


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